Following the notice of the capture of the S.C.s, gambling in public printed in the Evening Standard, an anonymous member of the Sketch Club (which included Samuel Morse and William Cullen Bryant) responded in a letter to the editor:
My dear sir:— I am exceeding grieved to perceive by your paper of this morning, that you have fallen into an enormous error respecting the nature and objects of the Selebrated Cociety to which I have the honor to belong, and the existence of which is occasionally made known to the public through the press, by the apparition of its formidable initials, S.C. You appear to be somewhat alarmed at the portentous aspect of this prodigy; but, my dear friend, let me entreat you to calm your fears—there is no cause for uneasiness. We, S.C’s, are not gamblers; and we entertain as virtuous and laudable a horror of Lumber Street and its inequities as any of our fellow countrymen. How should it be otherwise? Are we not Sober Citizens, and Sincere Christians? Do we not Sleep Coundly, Sing Cheerfully, Separate Coberly, Speak Censibly, Suffer Courageously, and Sup Comfortably? You seem to think we Shuffle Cards, too; but upon the Spotless Character of an S.C., it is not so; and the main who says it utters a Scandalous Calumny.
Since you manifest so much anxiety on the subject, however, I will tell you the honest truth; we are, in fact, a Secret Combination of Sworn Conspirators; and Social Conviviality is but a Simulated Cover for the Sacred Cecrecy of our Solemn Cabal. We are Severe Colts; and our purpose is to outroot Jacksonism and the Republic together. We are pledged to the establishment of absolute monarchy, the U.S. Bank, and Anti-Masonry; and we have sworn the downfall of the Regency, the Cherokees, and the odious practice of making visits on New Year’s day. We have Seriously Concluded to have mister. Van Beuren for King, and Mr. Clay Viceroy over him; but Mr. C. must change his name to Stephen, that he may be,
Like your Sensible Correspondent,
For all intents and purposes, an
S.C.qtd in Historical Annals of the National Academy of Design, 1865
